Coffee in Bodhum
by Kyndleline
Summary: Lightning works at a small coffee shop in Bodhum, but there's a new girl at work and she's definitely a handful. Juggling work, racing, and certain feelings, how will everything fall into place at Bodhum's local coffee shop? Fang x Lightning/FLight story. Warning; Language.
1. Chapter 1

The alarmed blared in her ear, jolting the pink-haired girl from her sleep, her crystalline blue eyes shooting open, tinged with irritation.

"Claire!" A female voice callee it. It was soft, gentle, and soothing so the effect of yelling was somewhat dimmed.

Claire rolled over in her bed, grumbling loudly to let everyone in a hundred foot radius know her displeasure for waking up.

"Claaaaire," the voice called again, "You're gonna be late for work, sis." A pink-haired girl stood in the doorway, probably about 17 or 18. She walked over to Claire who was bundled up in a small ball of blue blankets, blocking out the sunlight. The pink-haired girl shook the figure under the covers only to elicit another tired groan.

"Geroff, Serah," Claire said in a disgruntled tone.

Serah just chuckled and pranced out of the room as soon as Claire peeped her head out from underneath her covers. Claire suffered from chronic bedhead.

Claire brushed her pink hair from her eyes as she glanced at the clock. It was 8:07, which meant she has about 50 minutes to get to work. That's wonderful, Claire thought to herself as she crawled out of bed.

-x-

The clock on her dashboard read 8:57 as she pulled into the parking lot. Claire let out an exasperated sigh as she noticed that a car she didn't recognize was parked in her spot that was clearly marked as a spot reserved for employees, even though the sign was faded.

"Dammit, Amodar, I thought you were gonna get that sign fixed! We all know customers can't fucking read!" Claire stomped out of her silver Miata and up the stairs into the coffeeshop where she worked.

There were a few customers idling about, some in line, some sitting at various tables, and she could hear the faint sound of a game of ping pong going on below the balcony. The only thing that sounded foreign was that of an accent saying, "Alright, have a nice day and come see us again real soon."

Claire felt a surge of anger rise up in her. Amodar had hired some new kid. She couldn't stand new people.

She threw her black apron over her head, tying it in a gnarled knot as she walked behind the counter, getting a better look at the hiree. It was a girl that appeared to be about 20, the same as Claire. She had ebony locks tinged with burgundy that looked like they had not seen a brush in a week. She was very tan compared to Claire's fair skin.

"Like what you see, sunshine?" The new girl said, causing Claire to blush after she realized she had been staring for longer than she should have been.

Claire steeled herself, frowning at the other girl. "You wish." She stated.

The raven-haired girl just grinned at Claire's aggravated appearance. "The name's Yun Fang, Oerba Yun Fang. But just Fang will do. What about you, sunshine, got a name?"

Claire just huffed a sigh, pointing sharply at her nametag. "Lightning."

"You're telling me that your parents named you after a collection of negative ions? Seems pretty fitting, I guess, sunshine." Fang smiled at the pink-haired girl as leaned against the counter. She looked quickly over her shoulder to make sure there were no customers coming up to the register.

"And your parents named you after a tooth," Lightning replied coldly, suddenly turning around, stalking off to find Amodar. Fang just frowned in the direction of the girl and grumbled as she grabbed a rag off the counter and started wiping up a bit of coffee that had been spilt.

"This jobs going to be just lovely," Fang said softly to herself as she busied herself with small mundane tasks. "And that girl is going to be a real handful."

- x -

The morning rolled into the afternoon towards the end of Lightning's shift, with her trying to have as few as possible exchanges with Fang. Claire decided that she was nice enough, but she had a cocky attitude that kind of pissed her off.

Her interrogation of Amodar had not gone well. Her boss had berated her for not taking well to Fang as well as for questioning his judgement in who he hired, finally ending with a bit of yelling that Lightning was not exactly happy to hear.

Lightning had to admit Fang was fast on her feet and great with the customers, picking up the hang of the work pretty easily, at least a lot faster than the last new kid. Hope was 15 and just at the threshold of the working age. He was definitely a small fry, but he was pretty smart, just a bit uncoordinated. The silver-haired kid was fun to talk to, but Claire couldn't help but try and protect him like she was his big sister.

The girl glanced over at Fang noticed that she looked bored. It was about closing time and there wasn't much to do except wait around until Amodar said they could go. Fang looked up from her space-out and noticed Lightning staring at. The raven-haired girl smirked.

"I caught you staring again, sunshine," Fang said, walking over to Lightning and jumped up on the counter, swinging her legs back and forth.

Lightning sighed, bring her hand to her forehead, shaking her head. "Get down, Fang. Amodar's gonna chew you out if you don't. You definitely do not want to be on his bad side."

"Thanks for the heads up, but I don't thi-"

"YUN FANG! GET YOUR ASS OFF THAT COUNTER RIGHT NOW!" Amodar shouted from the doorway to the back.

Fang jumped off the counter in such a hurry, fearing the wrath of Amodar that Lightning had warned her about, that she lost her balance as she hopped off the counter. She toppled over onto the nearest thing, which was Lightning.

Lightning let out small shout as she fell to the ground with Fang. She looked up and Fang was laying on top of her, but only for a fraction of a second, partly because Fang saw the menacing glare in Claire's eye and partly because she was shoved off with an aggressive push. Lightning was fighting the blush that came after they both stood up.

"Awkwarddddd…"

Lightning's and Fang's heads shot up, looking for who had spoken.

"Vanille!" Fang spoke, addressing a red-haired girl with pig tails. She wore lots of jewelry, but it was tasteful.

"I'll just let you two have your moment," Vanille said, waving her hand as she walked off towards to the door, provoking garbled explanations from Fang and Lightning. Vanille just grinned, causing the other two girls to realize she was just joking.

Fang rubbed her hand on the back of her head, "Heh, Vanille. You got me. Anyways, I'm about ready to go. Oh, this is Lightning. She works here, too."

Vanille exchanged formalities with Lightning while she waited for Fang to finish up and clock out.

**Author's Note: **Sorry, I didn't really know how to end this chapter so it came out a little bit awkward. Let me know what you think and suggest things because I'm having a tough time thinking up stuff. Next chapter in much longer, I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Today, Lightning was opening the quaint little coffee shop. She relished these days. She brushed her still-shower-damp bangs from her eyes as she jammed her key into the lock, sighing in frustration as they key lodged itself, the tumblers not setting properly. Lightning furiously shook the key free, unlocking the store door.

The pink-haired girl padded into the store, enjoying the silence and darkness of the normally busy store. It was a refreshing change of pace. Lightning flipped all of the switches along the wall, the warm fluorescent lights flickering to life. She turned the coffee and other assorted machinery on, creating a dull, quiet purr. The ambient noise created a relaxing atmosphere that people desperately sought out for just a safe haven where they could work and also get a little energy from their over-caffeinated drinks.

After a few minutes, Lightning had the store up and ready to go, except for one thing. She walked into the back room where an iPod dock on a counter. She reached into her apron pocket, pulling out a silver-cased iPod touch. The thing Lightning liked best about opening was that your music was the playlist on the overhead radio for the day, as long as it didn't disrupt the coffee shop atmosphere. That meant no EDM, which was her personal favorite genre of music. Lightning fidgeted with the device for a moment before selecting a playlist labeled 'work.'

The first song that came on was a song by Sun Kil Moon named "Tonight the Sky." Lightning smiled; she liked this one. She remembered the first time she'd heard it. Lightning had an unfortunate habit of listening to songs on repeat for hours and hours because she liked the routine effect that it gave. Anything routine made her feel comfortable. She could know what to expect and when to expect it. It was orderly. This song had been on her repeat playlist for a solid two weeks, so she knew it well and helped her with her routine of setting up the store for a busy day.

Suddenly, a small tinkling bell sounded, signaling the arrival of a customer. Lightning poked her head out of the back, scanning the room for said customer. Her eyes rested on a girl with pink-red curled pigtails that rested on her shoulders. Lightning stepped up to the counter, staring at the girl, trying to remember where and why the girl looked familiar.

"It's Vanille, right?" Lightning said, trying to recall yesterday's short encounter.

"Uh-huh," Vanille said, smiling at the fact that pink-haired girl had remembered her name.

"You're up early," Lightning said, glancing at the digital clock built into the register. It read 5:17 AM. Vanille just nodded.

"I'm an intern at an international fashion agency so our shifts are really messed up if we want to compete with the rest of the world at a decent hour."

"Well, what can I get for you?"

Vanille glanced at the chalkboard menu for a moment, tapping her manicured nails against her face. "Hmm... I think I'll have a double caramel, double espresso iced mocha. Whole milk, please," Vanille's pleasant smile made Lightning think she didn't need such an energy jolt, seeing as how she was apparently already a naturally energetic person, but Lightning had learned long ago to never question an order, but to just roll with it.

Lightning scribbled obscure java jargon onto a clear cup with a Sharpie. She walked over to the ice bin and started mixing up Vanille's drink. After a few minutes of silence, Vanille paid for her drink and left, leaving Lightning to dwell alone in the quiet shop with her thoughts.

-x-x-x-

9 o'clock rolled around, bringing Lightning's much-needed rescue. She prayed a sigh of thanks when she saw Fang roll up on a sporty looking motorcycle. Fang yanked her helmet off her head, her burgundy-black locks tangled from exposure to the wind. She hopped off her bike and dashed inside. "Damn," Fang whispered under her breath, looking at the long line of customers and a frantic Lightning running around, trying to fill three orders at once.

"Oh, thank Etro you're here!" Lightning said, slightly frazzled as Fang stepped behind the counter. Even though Fang was still new, she had the basics down pat, only having to ask a few questions here and there.

45 minutes rolled by in the blink of an eye and the rush slowly trickled down to steady business. All the pastries had been passed out, all the intricate coffee orders had been received, and overly-expensive water bottles had been served.

Fang let out a sigh of relief as she helped Lightning wipe down the coffee-stained wooden counters.

"Not bad today, Yun. You held your own." Lightning said, not looking up from her intense counter-cleaning. She didn't want to admit it, but Fang had really saved her ass today. Lightning had a problem with doing things on her own and then rushing into things that are way over her head, her confidence getting the best of her. Today was one of those days. She had told Amodar that she could handle the going-to-work rush by herself and she was so thankful that Amodar had scheduled Fang anyway. Lightning sighed. She was too independent, but not dependable enough. She owed Fang at least a compliment for coming to her rescue today.

Fang smirked at Lightning's comment, noticing her "serious" demeanor, but Fang could have sworn Lightning was blushing when she said it.

-x-x-x-

Morning turned into afternoon; Amodar and Hope reported for duty and the rest of the day trickled by. Lightning liked working with Hope. He was a good kid; bit of a temper at time, but still a good kid. He had trouble letting things go and it got to his head so Lightning felt obligated to look after him like a little brother most of the time.

Lightning walked into the back room when she heard an aggravated grunt and random noises that sounded like trouble. What she found was Hope jumping up and down trying to reach something off one of the taller shelves. He definitely still had some growing to do. The silver-haired boy stared at the ground in despair as Lightning walked over to the shelf and reached the bottle of cleaner.

"Thanks, Light. Being short sucks," Hope looked sad that he hadn't had a growth spurt.

"Don't worry, kiddo. You'll be taller than I am one day," Lightning ruffled Hope's hair and started to walk out.

"What do you think of Fang?" Hope inquired before Lightning took more than a few steps.

"She's, er, nice, I guess." Lightning averted her eyes from Hope, getting distracted by the pulsing light on the iPod dock..

"Yeah, she's tall too, just like you."

"Hm…?" Lightning gaze drifted back to Hope, not whole-heartedly paying attention.

"Do you like her, Light?" Hope fidgeted with his apron.

"I, uh, wait, what?" Lightning was taken aback by the question, not know how to respond to the kid's question.

"I meant as a friend, you know, like if we all had a company cook out, you wouldn't mind if I invited her, would you?"

"Oh, oh! Yeah, that'd be fine, Hope. Sounds like fun. I, um, gotta go."

-x-x-x-

Lightning walked into the parking lot as Amodar locked up the store. The sun was starting to go down, giving her silver car an orangey glow. She waved goodbye to her co-workers and slid smoothly into her car. Lighting jammed her keys into the ignition, turning the key to start it. The car let out a frustrated, strangled noise.

"Dammit." She tried again to get the engine to turn over, but to no avail. The car made another sound that cars definitely shouldn't make before she slammed her fist into the steering wheel. "Stupid car."

The pink-haired girl jumped when she heard a tapping on the glass of the driver's side window. She whipped her head around to see Fang tapping a key incessantly. Lightning let out a growl of frustration as she opened her door and stepped out, giving an indignant and frustrated look at Fang.

"Car troubles, sunshine?" Fang ask, tucking her helmet under her arm.

"Tch… something like that," Lightning slammed her door, cringing when she realized she'd probably slammed that way too hard.

"Need a lift?" The raven-haired girl inquired softly.

Lightning's eyes perked up instantly, looking at Fang, her green eyes resonating a genuine kindness and sincerity. Lightning nodded simply. "Thanks… Fang. No, really, thanks." She gave Fang a rare smile.

Fang just smirked, shoving the helmet she was holding into Lightning's unsuspecting arms. Lightning just started wide-eyed at it, like she didn't know what to do with it. Fang gestured calmly at it, "Go on, put it on. It doesn't bite. I promise, sunshine." Lightning did as she was told and followed her dark-haired friend over to her sports bike.

Fang threw her leg over the saddle, patting the empty space behind her.

"I-I don't know, Fang. I can always just call Serah and wait until she gets off of work." Lightning's voice was filled with doubt.

"What? You scared?"

"N-no. It's just I've never ridden one and, and where's your helmet?"

"You're wearing it," Fang stated simply, revving the engine to life. Lightning started to remove the helmet, but Fang motioned for her to stop. Lightning sighed as she straddled the seat, hesitating before wrapping her arms around Fang's toned waist.

"Ocean Heights on New Bodhum Boulevard, know it?" Lightning asked, voice muffled through her helmet.

"Fang nodded and sped off out of the parking towards Lightning's apartment.

-x-x-x-

Author's Note: Well, after a bit of planning and lots of revising, I finally got this chapter out. Whoo-whoo. As always, ideas and suggestions are welcome and reviews make me very, very happy.

I have this terrible habit of not being able to write characters in-character, so if you have anything you'd like to critique on the way they might word or do something, that would also be very much appreciated.

I'm planning on alternating chapters on this between "Shipwrecked with You." So, when a chapter goes up on that, you can expect a chapter to go up on this soon after.

Love you guys, keep on reading~


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **If you read the old chapter 3, you will notice that this chapter is different. I scrapped the old chapter 3 in favor of this one. Thank you roxyroxas1313 for making me realize how crappy of a chapter that was and help me realize what I was doing wrong. It really helped me pace things out a bit in this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this rewrite much more than the other.

The wind was a nightmare and despite her best efforts at trying to bundle her pink locks up in the black helmet that Fang had given her, but the second that Fang revved the engine into a higher gear and sped down the road, her hair had come flying out, tangling itself in the whirlwind of air. But, even though her hair was in a distraught state, Lightning couldn't help but feel a sense of euphoria and adrenaline as they raced down the street towards her apartment.

As Lightning and Fang rode, Lightning found it hard to hold her balance on the bike as she gripped the handles on the side of the bike to avoid holding Fang around the middle, finding that it made her very uncomfortable. Scared that she might fall off, even though she had a death-grip on the small handles, Lightning eased her arms back around Fang, feeling intensely more secure, in an odd sort of way. The wind sheer definitely had a bite to it, chilling Lightning's thin form more than she liked, but Fang was like a sun, putting off so much heat that the wind felt relaxing.

"You smell good," Lightning said, her voice muffled silently into the wind.

"Huh?" Fang shouted over the roar over the wind in her ears.

Lightning felt a small blush rise in her cheeks, feeling slightly foolish at her statement. "I didn't say anything." Lightning and Fang spent the rest of the ride to Lightning's apartment in silence, finding conversation far too inconvenient.

Fang pulled her bike into the driveway of the apartment complex and guided the bike to apartment number thirteen upon Lightning's instruction. Fang killed the motor and flipped down the kickstand, hopping off the bike so Lightning could slide off. Lightning let out a small groan of discomfort as she lifted her leg off the bike, not used to riding like that for any extended period of time. Fang chuckled.

Hands in her pocket, Lightning fished around for her keys. Once she found them, she glanced over to Fang, watching as she leaned against the side of her bike, her ebony hair blowing gently in the summer night breeze.

"Thanks for the ride," Lightning said, walking towards the stairs, throwing up a hand as to wave goodbye, but she stopped. Lightning turned around, taking a deep breathed sigh. "Do you want to come inside, have a drink?"

Fang smirked, "Thought you'd never ask, Sunshine." Clutching her helmet under her arm, Fang followed Lightning up the stairs. Shoving the keys into the unreliable lock, Lightning sighed as the key jammed. She shook the lock and eventually it came free and she unlocked the door, letting Fang in.

Fang was shocked, the apartment looked much bigger on the inside than on the outside. The apartment was largely white, but there were a few red accents throughout the minimalistic modern furniture. "Nice place," Fang murmured.

"Thanks, just Serah and I live here, but Serah's never here," Lightning said, her tone quiet as she thought about her sister. Serah was never home because she preferred to stay at her boyfriend's house after she got off of her job as an evening teacher's assistant that she had to work for school credit. Lightning grimaced at the thought of Serah's boyfriend, whom she did not like in the slightest, Snow. Snow was rash and abrasive, his whole persona was one that Lightning found repugnant, thinking that Serah could do much better than a ragtag gang leader.

Lightning stripped off her shoes, Fang following suit, and headed towards the kitchen. Lightning pulled open the door to the stainless steel fridge, "Milk… or orange juice?"

Fang gave Lightning a strange look, glancing at the two jugs hanging in Lightning's hand. "Orange juice…?"

"Sorry," Lightning said, pouring Fang a glass of the orange liquid. Lightning coughed and cleared her throat as she poured herself a glass as well.

Fang just smiled, "It's fine. I need some vitamin C. Vanille complains all of the time about how I need to eat more than ramen and cupcakes. She says one day I'm going to get fat; I don't believe her." Fang chuckled a little, thinking of Vanille's attempt at reprimanding her. As she sipped on her orange juice, she slid into one of the bar stools that lined the counter. Lightning just shrugged and remained firmly planted on the other side of the counter, leaning on it with her elbows, her drink perched between her hands resting together.

"So, how long have you been working on that coffee shop? You seem to really know what you're doing." Fang said, licking the juice from her upper lip, attempting to make small talk.

Lightning and Fang talked for a few more minutes about little things before they both stopped mid-sentence when they heard the door being jostled about. A second later, another pink-haired girl walked in that was younger than Lightning and also shorter. Fang's eyes grew as she studied the smaller Lightning replica.

"Fang, this is my sister Serah," Lightning said, gesturing aimlessly at her sister as she continued to sip on her drink.

"'Sup," Fang said, waving at Serah, who walked over to Fang to shake her hand, obviously the more formal of the sisters.

"It's nice to meet you, er-" Serah said, not catching the ebony-haired girl's name.

"I'm Fang, I work with Lightning."

Serah nodded, and then turned to her sister. "Hey, where's your car? I thought no one was home."

Lightning shook her head, her light-pink bangs moving slightly more in front of her face, obscuring a bit of her eyes. "Fang gave me a ride home, Odin's taking a break for the night."

Frowning, Serah just sighed, pinching her fingers into her forehead. "Let me guess, it didn't give out of it's own accord again, did it?"

Raising an eyebrow at Serah's comment, Fang felt completely confused and out of the loop on the situation at hand.

"No, Serah, it's really out of commission. I got off of work at the damned thing wouldn't start!" Lightning said defensively, her blue eyes flaring up a little bit in anger at the accusation.

"Well, okay then! But if you're still racing, I swear to Etro, I'm going to drive that precious car of yours off of a cliff!" Serah shouted and stormed out of the kitchen. Lightning swore, slamming her glass onto the counter, but a little harder than she had intended. The glass shattered in her hand, slicing her hand in a few places.

"Fuck."

"You got that right," Fang said, rushing over to where Lightning was cupping her hands together to keep the blood from dripping any on the white marble. Grabbing the nearest dish towel, Fang handed it to the pink-haired girl and then tried her best to sweep the glass off the counter to avoid any more unfortunate injuries.

"Racing, huh? Maybe you're not such a stiff after all," Fang inquired, smiling at Lightning, as she helped her. By the time that Fang had discarded the shards of glass, Lightning had rinsed off her hand, pressing the dish cloth into hand, waiting for the blood to clot. After about five minutes, she took rag off, "Well, it's not that bad," examining the long, but thin scratches on her hand.

Nodding, Fang rummaged through all of the drawers and cabinets until she found a tiny box of band-aids and a nearly empty tube of antibiotics. Walking back over to Lightning, Fang ripped open a few band-aids and placed them one by one on Lightning's tender hand.

As Fang doctor Lightning's hand, Lightning could not help but notice how soft Fang's hands were, despite her rather rugged appearance. She was gentle and slow as she bandaged Lightning's hand, but still she winced as she put pressure on the cuts to make the bandages adhere. "Thanks, Fang. You've done nothing but rescue me together." Lightning said, smiling a little.

Beaming at the other girl, Fang threw away all the packaging and moved back over the counter, watching as Lightning ran her thumb very gingerly over her injured hand.

"Well, I better get going. Bahamut, my dog, has probably peed on every piece of furniture I own, so I should probably get home to him," Fang said, picking her helmet up from where she had left it. "Oh yeah, do you need a ride tomorrow? I know your car is still at the shop."

Lightning nodded and Fang pulled out a crumpled up receipt from her pocket, scribbling something onto it.

Taking the wrinkled paper, Lightning looked at the chicken-scratch that was Fang's handwriting and saw that it was a number.

"Call me when you're ready, 'kay?"

Nodding, Lightning waved to Fang as she walked out the door, locking the door behind her. Once Fang was gone, Lightning rested her back against the door, sliding down to the floor, sighing as she pushed her hand into faces, wincing as she forgot about her cut hand. "You're a real fuck-up, Claire." Lightning said to herself, feeling irritable as to why it even mattered.

**Author's Note: **Alright, Chapter 3 REWRITE. Much slower and much more fitting. Please point out anything that might seem out of place, because that would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for reading my story and reviews really help motivate me into writing more quickly!

Feel free to suggest any and all scenes that you would like to see in the story and I might try and incorporate them in.

Thanks for being amazing readers~

- Sam


	4. Chapter 4

Rain pattered outside the window, creating a peaceful lull in the vacant store. The low roar made it easy for Lightning to zone out as she mindlessly wiped the already-immaculately-clean counter as she stared blankly at a row of empty tables. The rain had chased away all of the customers, keeping them in their homes or at their jobs. Time passed especially slow on days such as these.

It had been a week and a half since Lightning had sliced her hand open on the glass, her car was back in working order, and she had made up with Serah after their small fight. Everything seemed mildly decent, except for the weather. Sighing, Lightning dropped the rag she had been cleaning with back into the sink, opting to sit in one of the empty tables instead of continuing her pointless cleaning regimen, seeing as how the store was already spotless, due to Lightning's desire for a clean atmosphere.

Days like these, Amodar only left one person in charge of the store at a time, which made the job lonely and dull. Lightning pulled out her phone, checking the local weather. It forecasted heavy storms for the rest of the afternoon. After staring at the reds and yellows on the weather map, Lightning let out an irritated groan, predicting little to none business for the rest of the evening.

Since she was already on her phone, Lightning pulled up her e-mail after noticing the little letter notification on her phone. It was from Hope.

"Hey, Light!

I know I talked to you the other day about the cookout, but I didn't really give you the full run-down. My mom said that we're gonna have it next Saturday and you should be here about six. Dad said he'd have the pool fixed up by then, so bring your swimsuit. Girls are supposed to bring something sweet and the guys are supposed to bring something salty, so pass that on if you invite your sister and her boyfriend. Alright, well, see you at work later!

- Hope"

Lightning smiled at Hope's e-mail. He lived in a rather wealthy neighborhood with a picture perfect house. His parents were usually nice and kind, even treating all of Hope's friends like their own adopted children, despite the huge age gaps between some of them. It was a really nice change for Lightning; she was really looking forward the cookout. She looked at the calendar on her phone, there were only five days to go.

Glancing at the time, Lightning noticed that it was ten minutes after the time that Fang was supposed to start her evening shift. _Late again, I see._

Just then, the bell tied to the door gave a little jingle. Lightning looked up to see Fang standing in the threshold soaked from head to toe, dripping water from every inch of her body. "Oh dear," Lightning said, laughing a little before noticing the angry expression on Fang's face.

"Damn the rain! Damn the fuckin' rain!" Fang shouted, throwing her arms up in the air as she marched into the back looking for a towel or something to dry herself off with. When she emerged, she walked over to where Lightning was sitting, rubbing the towel against her still sopping hair. Without warning, Fang shook her head and her hair violently, splattering Lightning with icy cold water.

"Hey!" Lightning shouted, a very displeased look on her face and she wiped the water off her face.

"That's what you get for laughing at me," Fang spoke, sticking out her tongue in a childish manner.

"You are such a child, Fang."

"Yeah, but this place would be a serious coffee shop hell without my livelihood," Fang said, smirking at her pink-haired friend.

Pushing her bangs out of her face, Lightning stared with a gentle, amused expression lighting up her crystal blue eyes. She wasn't smiling, but her eyes were, betraying her rather stoic demeanor.

"Alright, alright, now that you're here, get to work." Lightning said, gesturing vaguely at the work area. Fang just nodded and plodded off the back, slipping her apron over her head.

A few minutes pass and Fang emerges back into the common area of the shop, an irritated expression on her face. "You little shit."

Lightning just smirked. "Whoops, must have slipped my mind that I already cleaned everything."

-x-x-

And so the afternoon passed with an abundance of sarcastic repartee between the two girls, making the time pass faster in the dreary weather. A few customers trickled in from time to time, but it was nowhere near being steady.

Eventually, the clock ticked to the closing and Lightning went up to the blinking sign that blinked off and on in bright colors. Wrapping her hand around the tiny chain dangling that hung from the sign, clicking it off.

"Alright, let's clear out," Lightning said, raising her voice a little, alerting Fang that they were clear to leave now that they were closed. A moment or so later, Fang emerged from the work area, walking in a skip-like manner into the dining room, most definitely ready to leave work after a rather slow day that dragged on for what seemed like forever.

"Are you going to Hope's cookout?" Fang inquired, casting a glance over to Lightning who was gathering up her belongings. Inwardly, Fang was very hopeful that Lightning would say yes, but Fang had quickly learned that Lightning preferred to stay away from large crowds after another girl that worked with them had invited them The Hanging which was a club downtown.

Looking over to Fang, a faint smile on her face, Lightning nodded. She had a very peaceful, pleasant expression on her face, almost one that looked placidly excited about the idea of the cookout. Fang returned her smile with an even bigger one.

"Awesome, see ya there, Light." With that, Fang donned her raincoat and helmet, making her way outside.

-x-x-

The days could not possibly tick by any slower for Lightning. She felt like the days just dragged on and on. Each day was dull and dreary, the sky usually overcast and hinting at rain that never came. She had three days off this week, giving the girl lots of time to herself. It was Friday afternoon and Serah was at work that Lightning found herself laying on her stark white couch staring at the vacant ceiling, absent-mindedly sighing.

It was not often that Lightning found herself with an extensive amount of time on her hands, usually working or doing something that was at least mildly more productive than laying on her couch staring into space. Suddenly, her phone went off; it was from Sazh.

'RACE ON EAST 47TH STREET. STARTS AT 5.'

Sazh was a local street racer and often plotted routes for the local race enthusiasts, coordinating places that were least likely to be patrolled, offering little to none pedestrian traffic. Lightning smirked. "Tch, this should be good."

Lightning glanced at the clock. It read 4:45 PM. "Dammit, Sazh. Didn't get give a lot of warning." Thankfully, Lightning's car was back from the shop after the repairs. It had been the perfect opportunity to arrange some extra parts to be put on the silver car, making it a little more edgier on the battlefield that is the streets. Serah would have been very suspicious if her car had gone off to the shop for 'unexplained repairs.'

Extremely grateful that Serah was not there to question where she was going, Lightning grabbed her keys and headed for her car. Serah did not approve of her sister's racing habits at all, concluding that it was dangerous and it was going to land her in serious trouble one day if she got caught racing. The younger Farron had at least convinced Lightning to maintain a car that was not decked out in racing logos or decals, advising at least a slightly more inconspicuous car.

Sliding into her car, enjoying the heat of the sealed car that had been warming in the sun, Lightning cranked her car, revealing in the sound of it roaring to life. Throwing the car into gear, she raced down the street towards the point that Sazh had texted her.

Just as she pulled her car into a vacant lot where a variety of sports cars and various modified cars resided, a man with dark skin and a jungle green flight blazer walked up to her car.

"Didn't think you coming, Farron," The man said, his voice had a warm but judgmental tone.

"Don't count me out yet, old man," Lightning said as she put her car in idle, waiting for any further instruction.

"Alright, alright. The race is starting in five minutes and the turning points are marked with blue markers," Sazh said, holding up a blue ribbon=like object in his hand as an example. "And Farron, no shortcuts this time."

Lightning nodded, a cocky smirk on her face. Revving her Miata back to life, Lightning pulled the car up to place where several cars had already begun to line up in pairs. She recognized two cars that were well none for being top competitors in the races. One was a sleek black car with a white racing stripe along the center of the car. The other car was a bright yellow one with crazy decals and body customization that looked like the personification of a car on acid with all of its bright, clashing colors.

A few more cars pulled up into formation and before a minute had passed, Sazh was standing on a stepping stool between the two lines of cars that had form, a checked flag in hand. Lightning pushed the clutch in, her foot gravitating from brake and gas, hand clutched tightly on the gear shifter, waiting for the drop of the flag.

Sazh raised his arms, one hand holding up three fingers and the other with the flag wrapped tightly in one hand. Three, two, one. His fingers went down and the flag dropped as the last finger went down.

The noise that followed was chaotic. Every single one of the cars floored their cars into action, pushing theirs gears, watching their revs. The cars took off down the street, tires squealing in the back.

Lightning pushed her car through the gears, going through the racing paces that she knew so well. Pushing the gas pedal harder, riding it until she found herself right on the tail of the yellow car. The driver was swerving every time Lightning tried to pass him and just when the girl thought she had a chance to over-take him, a turn came up.

"Dammit, this guy is trying to really piss me off!" Lightning shouted, but suddenly calmed down. There was a large stretch of road ahead, not a pedestrian in sight on the sidewalks that lined the streets. Normally she wasn't one for incredibly drastic measures, but her temper tampered with her judgement.

Seconds later, Lightning floored the car, ramming the tires onto the sidewalk with half of her car on the street and half on the walkway. This extra bit of room allowed her accelerate past the car, but to her immediate distress, she heard the scraping of metal that she knew to be the underside of her car.

Quickly she passed the yellow car, smirking at the driver whose mouth was gaping at her, pulling her car onto the road and giving it some more gas, throwing the car into a different gear. Now she was just neck and neck with the leader of the pack, the black car with the white stripe.

Lightning found herself driving on a four lane road that was surprisingly empty, side-by-side of the other the car, each car giving it all it had to pass the other. Lightning groaned as she saw a rapidly approaching sign that said the lanes were merging to one.

"AARGHH!" Lightning shouted as her entire car was jostled. The driver of the black car had rammed her, throwing her car into a fit of seizures, leaving the girl to fight for control of the steering wheel. But, to her surprise, the car rebounded off her own car. The next thing she heard was the squealing of tires against the asphalt.

Glancing in her rear view mirror, Lightning saw the black car sitting sideways on a median, the driver a vague shadow behind the tinted windows, spinning its tires violently. An instant later, the car was springing back onto the road at top speed, but Lightning already had the advantage. There was only a half mile left in the race.

With the black car out the way, the yellow car had a second chance at Lightning, speeding up right against the bumper of Lightning's silver car. Lightning tried to press the gas pedal harder, but to her frustration found that it was already pressed to the floorboard of the car. Suddenly, her blue eyes lit up with excitement, remembering her special 'repairs' she'd had done.

Her eyes flashed back and forth from the road to her console as she unflipped a panel on the dashboard. There was a switch there, a dimly lit blue light above it. Lightning flipped the switch.

Suddenly, she was pushed back in her seat, the gravity force from the accelerating car taking her by surprise; the nitrous shot had most definitely done its job. Glancing back in her mirrors, she saw that she had left the other cars that had been riding her tail long behind and the circuit marker in view.

The silver car crossed the finish marker with a satisfying rev of an engine. Lightning gradually put on brakes, easing the car to a stop where she could see a small gathering of racing fans and Sazh. The older man walked over the car, grinning from ear to ear.

"I shouldn't even be surprised to see you here first, Farron."

"Just because it's been a while since I've raced doesn't mean I don't know how to show the crowd up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yo, here's your cash prize. Spend it wisely, kid," Sazh chuckled, handing Lightning 450 gil in earnings for the race. She assumed that it was originally supposed to be an even 500, but that the other 50 had gone to entrance fees. Lightning sighed. Sazh had already knew she would win and didn't even bother charging her the entry fee when she had arrived. Good ol' Sazh, always looking out for everyone.

-x-x-

By the time that Lightning had arrived home the sun was just beginning to set and Serah was probably making her way home, hopefully with food. Lightning didn't mind cooking, but she wasn't exactly a gourmet chef, unlike Serah, who could make a five course meal with a few cans of food. As she pulled into the driveway, Lightning saw Serah getting out of her car with a few grocery bags. Serah turned and saw Lightning pulling up, her expression quickly turning from a pleasant one to an enraged one. Lightning got out of the car, a confused expression on her face at Serah's angry face.

"What the HELL happened to your car, Lightning?" Serah shouted, throwing her arms up as she gestured at the damaged metal on the side of the Miata.

Lightning winced at Serah's shout, having totally forgotten about the slight collision in the heat of the moment of the race. "Dammit," Lightning whispered under her breath.

"I thought we agreed no racing! You're going to get hurt, Lightning! You could get arrested! Don't you understand the consequences your actions have, Claire!?"

Lightning felt a surge of guilt and anger all at once, wanting to apologize but also to take up her side of the argument. "Serah, you're not in charge of me! My actions are my own and you are not responsible for the choices I make. My life is my own. I have never told you you couldn't date Snow, even though it's clear I don't like him! So leave me alone to do what I want." Lightning started to storm off up the stairs to their apartment.

"I don't want to lose you, too, Claire!" Serah screamed, a tear beginning to trickle down her face, her voice trembling. Lightning stopped where she stood, the guilt she felt earlier completely replacing her anger, but still she said nothing.

"I'm sorry, Serah," Lightning said, her crystalline blue eyes filled with pain and guilt at the turmoil she caused for her sister. Lightning walked inside, heading for room and collapsed on her bed, letting out a deep sigh.

There was a quiet knock on the door and a second later it opened, Serah appearing around it. "Listen, Claire. I'm sorry, too. It's just, if I lost you, too, I wouldn't have anyone left. But, I know how much you love racing and everything, so just promise me this; please be careful." Serah's voice was pleading and sincere.

"I will, Serah," Lightning said, looking up to see her sister's kind and gentle face, her eyes lighting up at Lightning reassurance of safety. Lightning smiled at her sister, knowing that she had to be more careful, if not for her own sake, but for her sister's sake.

**Author's Note:** OKAY! Wow, this is one of the longest chapters I've ever written because obviously I'm not a prolific writer. I have never written, or read, any sort of car scene, so I have no experience whatsoever. The only reference I have for that would be games like Forza and those Fast and Furious movies that I've only seen like two of.

Next chapter is going to be the cookout, so prepare for a bit of fluff and perhaps a bit more racing, but this time - it's going to be a different spin. Alright, see you guys next time.

Also, please leave reviews. Nothing inspires me more than knowing people want to read my writing. Helpful critiques are also appreciated, because I'm definitely a long ways from being a good reader.

Thanks for reading my story. I love you guys!

- Sam


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the fact that Lightning chose to wear clothes of a more simple fashion, picking out an outfit for the cookout proved to be more difficult than she had originally thought. Before she knew it, she had most of her summer clothes sprawled out in a circle around her, occasionally setting a shirt and a pair of shorts together to decide if they matched, but to her chagrin, she couldn't find anything that seemed right.

After much debate, she finally settled on a light, faded crystal blue bikini with white straps, a loose white tank top, and bright red shorts. It felt summery enough to wear to the cookout. She didn't want to feel out of place, considering the fact that there would be lots of people she did not know at this event, even if she did feel comfortable with lots of people that would be there.

She glanced at her phone, checking the time. It read three o'clock. The party was in two hours and she had not decided what kind of dessert she was going to take to the party. Suddenly, a sweet, delicious smell wafted into the room, drawing Lightning's attention. Wandering into the kitchen, she instantly discovered what the smell was. It was Serah and she was cooking.

"What are you cooking? It smells really good," Lightning said, looking at the wreckage from the cooking ingredients that were spread all about the kitchen from the preparation of cooking.

Serah hesitated, looking away. "Mom's brownies."

Light's eyes softened, nostalgia rolling through her like a giant wave that she couldn't avoid. "Good, I haven't had them in years. She always made the best brownies."

Serah's eye lit up, glad to see that Lightning approved of her decision to use their mother's recipe for the cookout. It was true that their mother had always made delicious brownies that were incredibly chewy and had bits of white chocolate in them. They were like little bits of heaven in chocolately square form, or that's what Claire had called them when she had been a child.

Lightning gave a small smile and then exited the kitchen to finish getting ready. She still had to pick up all of the clothes that she had strewn about the floor of her room and do her makeup and make sure it was waterproof. She'd probably have to steal some from Serah since she didn't have that much, just basic every day stuff that was most definitely not waterproof.

-x-x-

As Lightning put the cap back onto the eyeliner, she looked at herself in the mirror, judging her ability to apply eyeliner and mascara. It was a dismal job, but at least she didn't look comical. In fact, she thought it looked really good. She found herself wondering what Fang would think if she saw her wearing it. Why does that even matter? Lightning thought to herself, shaking her head, letting her fringe fall into place.

A moment later, Serah walked into the bathroom where Lightning still had all various eyeliner sticks and mascara tubes laying about.

"Hmm, what's this? Make-up? Claire!" Serah smiled a big goofy grin, knowing her sister rarely wore any sort of make-up. "What's the special occasion?"

Lightning faltered, "What special occasion? There's no special occasion. Maybe I just like looking nice."

"Oh, so you admit you were trying to look nice." Serah smirked.

"Argh, shut up, Serah!" Lightning said, feeling more than slightly flustered and exasperated the entire situation as she stormed out the bathroom. I'm just looking nice to look nice. Serah is just reading way too into things.

-x-x-

Once Snow arrived, the three decided to take Serah's car, since Light's entire driver's side was wrecked, even one of her tinted windows had shattered in the slip during the race. Serah drove a little red Mazda3 and she loved it. It was sporty in a cute kind of way that Serah found fit her small size quite well. As the three walked over to the car, Serah crawled into the driver seat, Lightning into the front seat, leaving Snow to stand with an exasperated expression plastered to his face. He threw his hands up.

"What? I have to sit in the back?" Snow mumbled, frowning at the notion.

Serah rolled down the window, "Sorry, sweetie. I need you to ride in the back and protect our precious, sweet cargo… as long as you don't eat it." Serah's attempt at persuasion was mild at best, but it got the 6' 7" man to crawl into the backseat, his legs scrunched up in the backseat. Lightning just smirked at the entire scenario.

-x-x-

By the time the three had arrived at the Estheim residence, there were already lots of cars parked in the area. Some cars were parked parallel along the curb, others in the driveway, and still a few more parked in odd places in the yard. There were a lot more people here than Lightning had initially interpreted there to be.

As Serah found a place to park a little ways away, Lightning stumbled out of the car, grabbing her bag and walked down the path to the front door of Hope's house, leaving Serah and Snow to meander their way to the house by themselves. In the corner of her eye, she saw a man with styled blond hair that was chaotically elegant. He wore a black tank top and striped black and white swim trunks, the clothing accented his well-toned body. Lightning noticed a small, thin red ribbon tied tightly around the middle of his arm. He was intently reading something on his phone. Only too late did Lightning realize that their paths were on a clash-collision track.

Lightning lay prone to the ground, my hands on a soft material, slightly elevated. When she looked down, she realized she was clutching the shirt of the guy that she had been looking at. Quickly scrambling off, brushing off an stray dirt that had clung to her pristine outfit.

"Oh sorry," Lightning said, feeling uncomfortable as she offered her hand to help the blond-haired guy off the ground. He accepted it, but mostly used his own strength to lift himself off the ground.

"Claire, er Lightning?" The man said, looking closer at the person who had knocked him over.

Lightning's eyes grew a little wider in realization, finally recognizing him,"Cloud."

"Wow, it's been years! How have you been?" Cloud's eyes lit up, smiling at the pink-haired girl with a warm familiarity.

Lightning nodded simply, "I've been well. You look like you're doing well."

It had been years since Lightning had seen the man that stood before her now. They had been on the high school track team together, in fact, they had been the top two runners on the team. Cloud had been a lot thinner then, but he definitely seemed to have bulked up in the three or four years since Lightning had last seen him. The two had actually planned to enter school for the Guardian Corps, but after high school, their plans dissolved with their lives taking unforeseen paths. Not long after that, their communication dropped and the two just sort of forgot about each other.

"Yeah, I guess I'm doing alright. I live just down the street now. Are you going to the Estheim party?" Cloud asked, observing Lightning's attire which seemed similar to his own.

"Oh, that's nice. I live on the east side of town with Serah. I work with Hope, so he invited a bunch of the people we work with to the cookout. Really nice family, the Estheims."

"Okay, well we can walk there together," Cloud said, smiling at Lightning warmly.

-x-x-

Fang was enjoying the warm summer atmosphere as she and Vanille raced towards the cookout on the back of Fang's bike. Despite the chill that the wind had as the two raced down the street wearing their attire for the party, Fang felt her body glowing with a warm, satisfactory heat. She wouldn't admit it, but she was very excited about the party. Vanille, on the other hand, was a bit nervous since the only person she really knew was Fang and only knew Lightning from the brief meeting with her and what Fang had said of her, which actually spoke quite highly of her. That was odd for Fang.

As Fang and Vanille pulled up to the house that Hope had sent her the address for the cookout. Her bike easily fit up onto a small space along the curb close to the house. As Fang dismounted her bike, she looked across the area, her eyes catching sight of a pink-haired girl and a blond-haired guy. Fang assumed that it was Serah and Snow, from Lightning's general description. But, as Fang walked closer with Vanille, Fang realized that the pair was Lightning and a guy she quickly realized was not Snow, mostly because Lightning was chatting quite amiably with him. Fang felt her stomach grow rather uneasy, but called out to Lightning anyways.

Lightning's head whipped around, throwing a little wave of acknowledgement. Lightning and the man stopped and waited for Fang and Vanille to catch up and introductions were exchanged. Fang frowned inwardly the longer Cloud was around, feeling agitated at his presence being there at all.

_Chill out, Fang. You're here to have a good time._

As the four walked up the steps to the Estheim house, Fang's mouth dropped. The house was in no single terms small. In face, the house was quite a large two story house with a three-door garage. Fang would not have been surprised to be told that there was a decent sized basement as well.

Cloud knocked on the door and a moment later, the door opened, revealing a kindly looking woman with light, soft blonde hair, her expression kind and warming. "Ah, Cloud, Lightning! Welcome. And you two must be… Fang and Vanille! Come on in, everyone is in the back."

"Thanks, Nora," Cloud said, entering the house along with the others and following the woman through the elegant, modern styled house. As they emerged into the back yard, again, the rich elegance flowed into the yard. The grass was a rich, lush green with a large, wavy shaped pool wound it's way around the yard. Torches staked into the ground along the path provided a warm light in the fading sunlight. Flowers and beautiful floral arrangements lined the paths, bringing the entire yard into a fairy garden ideal. There were probably twenty or thirty people milling about in the spacious yard; some were swimming, some were at the tables, snacking on the guest-brought food, and it seemed like a pick-up game of football was being formed.

-x-x-

As the night wore on, people seemed to group up. Vanille gravitated towards her newfound friends Serah and Hope. Vanille got along with the other two very well for only having just met. Cloud and Lightning spent a large majority of the time talking, catching up on the time they had spent out of contact. Fang was left sitting on the stairs, drinking punch alone. She let out a heavy sigh as she watched the others, feeling strangely alienated. She heard heavy footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw that it was Snow.

"Hey, feeling left out?" Snow said, sitting down on the steps next to Fang. Fang nodded, asking the same of Snow.

"Yeah, Serah really likes talking to your sister; Hope and Serah grew up together. She sees enough of me, but sometimes her old friends take precedence over her hero. You?" Snow asked, knocking back another cup of punch.

"I was kind of hoping to hang out with Light during the party, but she's kind of really into that spikey-haired asshole," Fang mumbled, her voice tinged with irritation, looking wistfully over at the pink-haired girl and her blond-haired friend.

"Say, why don't we go interrupt their little -" Snow hesitated, watching as Cloud leaned over to Lightning, take her mouth to his. "Uh…"

-x-x-

Lightning felt Cloud's lips warm against her own, soft and gentle. But, it felt wrong and distorted, like they weren't the right pair of lips. She broke apart, creating a gap between the two. Lightning looked into Cloud's deep blue eyes, his eyes pleading and confused.

"I… I'm sorry, Cloud," Lightning stammered, backing up, hesitating before she quickly stood up and ran away from the scene, her heart and breathing rapid. She thought she heard someone shout her name, but it wasn't Cloud, but all she cared about was getting away from the situation as quicky as possible.

-x-x-

**Author's Notes: **Cliffhanger! I had originally intended to put this chapter into a single chapter, but splitting this into two chapters to create a cliffhanger was just too incredibly tempting. Don't worry, I've already gotten the next half written, I just want you guys to simmer over the ending. ;D I'm sorry, I'm terrible and mean.

I realize that all the cars I have mentioned have been Mazdas. I have not picked these cars myself, but asked my dad were some reasonably priced sportyish cars. Lightning got a more sporty car than Serah, but I definitely like Serahs' better.

I am a definite shipper of Cloud x Light, just in case you were wondering. But, not for this story.


	6. Chapter 6

_"I was in love with you. I still am in love with you, Claire Farron." _

His voice resonated in Lightning's head as she replayed the scene in her mind over and over again, reliving the moment that Cloud looked at her, his eyes radiating an emotion that felt strange and alien to her. After her escape from the scene, she wandered aimlessly until she found herself sinking onto the floor of an upstairs bathroom in Hope's house.

_"In high school, I only joined the track team to spend more time with you and I wanted to join the Guardian Corps because that's what you wanted to do. I wanted to spend my life with you, Claire. Thinking about life without you sounded terrible and I can say that the years we spent apart were the worst of my life. I wanted to make you happy and make you smile real genuine smiles, to grow old and gray together."_

"Dammit," Lightning sighed, running her hands through her hair as she leaned her head against her knees and as she pulled them up to her chest, her thoughts chaotic and confused. There was a faint knock on the door.

"Lightning, are you in there?" It was Fang, her voice soft against the door as she knocked.

Her thoughts calming a little at the sound of Fang's voice, she let Fang in, sliding over for her to sit on the bathroom floor next to her.

Fang looked at Lightning, her green eyes filled with an array of emotions, "So, who do I get to shove in the pool?" Fang smirked, making a shoving motion with her hands, chuckling a little.

Shaking her hand, Lightning pushed hands down feeling her soft, warm skin against her own. "It's okay, Fang, you don't have to push him in the pool. I didn't handle that very well, did I?"

Fang shook her head. "For someone so graceful as yourself, that was the least graceful escapade I have ever seen. You okay, Light?"

"Yes, no. I don't know. Cloud said he was in love with me," Light said, her crystalline blue eyes clouded with thought.

Fang faltered, sadness creeping into her, almost like a disappointment after a big hype. "And… do you love him back?"

"No… No, I don't. He's been a friend, no, more like a brother to me for so long. I just… it doesn't feel right being with him." Lightning hesitated, trying to describe how she felt and describe how wrong everything felt.

"Tell him that, Light. Tell him how you really feel. It's the kindest thing you can do for him is to not let him dwell on it."

"You're right," Lightning said, standing up, a sudden determination in her eyes. "Thanks, Fang. You're a great friend."

Fang gave a half-hearted smile to Lightning, watching as she left her sitting on the cold floor of the bathroom. _Friend. _The word resonated in her chest in a turbulent way. Why did it feel so wrong for Lightning to call her that? Running her hands through her tangled locks, Fang stood up and wandered back outside. She could see Lightning and Cloud sitting at the patio table quietly talking. Cloud's face was crestfallen. Lightning was neither gentle nor did she beat around the bush.

Fang actually felt a wave of pity for the guy to have his heart be broken by such a beautiful woman. She could easily see how Cloud had fallen for Light. She was cool and in control, kind at heart, even if her tough outer shell disguised it at first, and was most definitely one of the most beautiful women Fang had ever seen. Fang found herself blushing as she thought about her.

-x-x-

Lightning moved her feet back and forth through the crystalline water, looking into the deep water with glassy eyes. She had a deep-sinking feeling of guilt for telling Cloud that she couldn't be with him. After their brief meeting, Cloud had decided to retire early from the party which relieved a small amount of stress from Lightning's chest. Suddenly, a small tidal wave of shockingly cold water assaulted her.

"Fang," Lightning growled, her eyes lightning up with a playful fire. With a powerful kick from her toned legs, Lightning splashed water in Fang's direction where she was treading water a few feet away.

Fang spluttered as a little bit of water spilled into her mouth. "C'mon, Light. Scared of a little water? Get off the sidelines and fight me like a real warrior!" Fang challenged, smirking as she brushed her damp hair out of her face.

Lightning pulled her legs out of the water, walking off the concrete area that surrounded the pool. Fang called out jests of Lightning being scared, but suddenly, the pink-haired girl turned around and took off a sprint, flinging her body gracefully into the pool, directly at Fang. Despite her best efforts, she could not swim away fast enough before Lightning's lean body collided with hers, pushing her under the water.

Fang felt the water pressure increased as her body sunk under the water, feeling Light's body pressing her body down as she scrambled off. Fang slid out of from under her and resurfaced to see a smiling Lightning treading water. "Alright, if that's how you want to play it," Fang said, pushing her body forcefully out of the water, throwing her arms around Light's shoulder and dunked her under the water, Lightning's arm flailing about. Fang grunted as she felt a strong kick in her side as Lightning fought her.

The struggle continued for a few minutes before both girls found themselves sitting on the concrete with their feet in the water, breathing deeply.

"You fight well, Light," Fang said, lightly shoving Lightning on the shoulder, smiling warmly. Her green eyes were alight with a tender kindness.

"I used to want to join the Guardian Corps, well, I still want to. I used to train with my dad. He was a sergeant in the Corps." Lightning smiled as she reminisced on her childhood where her father used to spar with her after school. It had initially been for self-defense, but Lightning fell in love with the art of fighting.

She remembered her constant begging for her father to teach her new things and to let her train with the sparring swords they kept in the attic. Lightning's father finally gave in to her constant pleas. Lightning had been a relatively talkative, lively child that constantly got into mischief.

_"Please, Serah! I know you'll love it as much as I do. Sparring with Dad is the best thing ever. He knows everything about fighting!" Claire said excitedly, bouncing with excitement in anticipation of her sparring practice with her father._

_Serah shook her head, her pigtails bundling her pale pink hair twirling along with her head. "No, I want to go to the hospital with Mommy and be a doctor like her!"_

_"They don't let 8-year-olds be doctors, Serah." Claire said, trying to convince Serah to participate with her and her father. Serah just responded by sticking out her tongue and running off. _

_"Claire!" Mr. Farron called, poking his head inside the back door. Claire jumped up, and raced to her father, throwing her small arms around his much larger frame. Mr. Farron wrapped her strong, warm arms around his eldest daughter and smiled. "Ready to train?" _

_Claire just grinned, grabbing her father's large hand and dragging him out into the backyard. The autumn afternoon was warm and comfortable, the perfect weather for a good outdoor practice. Mr. Farron walked over to a stand where he kept his wooden sparring swords. They were made out of a light wood that was durable, but they most definitely seen better day. He picked two up and tossed one to his daughter who caught it with ease, brandishing the sword with practiced skill. _

_"Alright, Claire. I've been teaching you for a year. Today we have no lessons, just come at me with everything you've got," Mr. Farron said calmly, readjusting his sword to hold it backhand. He raised his hand in front of his face, raising the sword to be parallel with the ground. Claire smirked, raising her sword in the regular position in two hands and charged at her father._

_At the last moment as Mr. Farron put up the blade to parry her blow, Claire nimbly danced to the side, aiming for her father's side, good for a quick, agile blow. But, Mr. Farron was ready for her fast side strike, quickly spinning around to match her sword. Claire let out a growl, lifting her sword away, bringing it into a defensive position as Mr. Farron went in for an offensive strike. Their blades met with the sound of wood on wood. They fought for dominance in the stance, but Mr. Farron quickly overtook her, pushing her back into an unstable stance. _

_Claire bounced back, giving herself some space between her father. She sidestepped around her father in a wide circle. He mimicked her spiraling motion. Hopping back and darting to the side, she rolled as her father gave a sweeping side-arc to draw her in. Claire was fast, though, much faster than her brawny father. She went in for an agile strike against the back of Mr. Farron's knees, bringing him into a kneeling position. Claire laid her sword to rest on his shoulder, close to his neck. She smirked, her blue eyes shining with the light of victory. _

_"You've done well, Claire. Showing your old man up. But, next time, I won't go easy on you." Mr. Farron winked at his daughter, ruffling the top of her hair, smiling warmly. _

_"Supper is ready, soldiers," Mrs. Farron called from the back porch, imitating a saluting soldier in a deep voice. She broke character, giving a gentle grin. Claire and Mr. Farron filed in, faux-saluting the woman trying not to laugh. _

"Lightning. Earth to Light!" A hand waved in front of Lightning's face, snapping out of her reminiscing.

Lightning blinked, grabbing Fang's hand and pushed it away from her face. "Sorry. I was thinking about my dad." She had a glint of happiness in her eye as she thought back to the great times she had had with her parents.

"Oh," Fang said sheepishly. She knew that the Lightning and Serah's parents had been dead for several years and that they missed them greatly. "Was it good memory?" Fang questioned, seeing the smile in Lightning's blue eyes.

"Yeah," Lightning said, a small smile upon her lips, leaning back on her hands, pressing them into the damp concrete.

"You're beautiful when you smile," Fang said quietly, her face slightly flushed under her tanned skin.

Fang's statement took Lightning by surprise, causing her to blush and smile gently at Fang. "Thanks."

Fang nudged Lightning's shoulder, pointing to the buffet table. "Looks like Mrs. Estheim is putting out the 'good' punch." Lightning smirked, hopping up and shaking the water off of her legs. She extended a hand to Fang who gripped it tightly and pulled herself up.

-x-x-

Several, several cups of the exotic punch that Mrs. Estheim had concocted, Fang, Lightning, and Snow were all laughing very amiably together, their faces slightly flushed from the alcohol.

"And then I was all like 'Will you marry me?' and she was all like "Yeah!" Snow garbled, slurring his words.

Fang laughed heartily, fist-bumping Snow. Lightning had a confused expression on her face, trying to process Snow's story, standing up angrily, but fell back in a dizzy stumble. A warm pair of arms stopped her, but they were wobbly as well. "Hey, Light. You should marry me like Snow is getting married."

"Okayy," Lightning said, dragging out her words, smiling unnaturally wide for her typically stoic composure. Her brain was fuzzy and suddenly she felt herself being pulled into a darkness, blacking out in Fang's arms.

-x-x-

Light filtered into Lightning's room, her red curtains illuminating the white walls. Her head pounded and and everything was blurry.

"Argh, what the hell?" Lightning said, sitting up groggily in her bed, rubbing her arching head.

A blurry figure walked into Lightning's room. "Ah, good, you're up." It was Serah.

"What happened?" Lightning asked, massaging her temples in a slow motion.

"You, Fang, and Snow literally drank all of the alcohol at the party. You three were _quite_ the handful last night. You're the only that blacked out, though. Tsk, tsk. I thought you can handle your drinks better than that," Serah chuckled a little, setting a glass of water and a few tylenol on her nightstand. "Snow had to carry you up here. I bet you would have thrown a fit, but you were out stone cold. It was cute actually."

Lightning groaned, waving Serah off. After Serah had gone, she reached for her phone, flipping through her unread messages. Her closed her phone back to the home screen noticing her background had been changed to a baby chocobo. Lightning opened up the gallery to change it back to its usual cloudy theme, but stopped when her eyes caught an album that had been made yesterday. She certainly did not remember taking any pictures.

Tapping the gallery with her finger, her stomach dropped when she saw the thumbnails. There were several pictures of her and Snow running around with towels like capes. She mentally berated herself for letting herself get that drunk. Thumbing through the rest of the pictures, Lightning gasped at the last picture that was taken.

It was a picture of her planting a kiss on Fang's cheek.

"Oh shit," Lightning said, quickly scrambling to lock her phone before Serah came back. She didn't hardly remember anything about last night, especially not that.

**Author's Note: **Ahh, I've rewritten this chapter so many times because of I wasn't sure how to make each of these scenes play out. But, I definitely feel like this one of more solid than my first drafts, but you can tell which parts I only wrote once. ;-;

So, we've got a bit of fluff and a smidgen of little Claire. Comparatively, I am much better at writing sword-fighting scenes than street-racing scenes… Hehe. Reviews keeps the writer writing so they are most definitely welcome and criticism is also welcome. I have a long way to go before I'm even a decent writer, so I definitely need someone to point out what needs improvement.

Next chapter is not written yet, so, give me a week to formulate some ideas. I really do appreciate the feedback that I have been getting, though. It's really helped me write some scenes.

I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you keep reading.

- Sam


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